The IDF on Thursday afternoon announced the death of Warrant Officer Zeed Mazarib, 34, who was part of the Bedouin Gaza Division’s Desert Reconnaissance Battalion

He was killed early Thursday morning in a serious incident when four heavily armed terrorists from the Rafah area of Gaza tried to infiltrate the Israeli border near Kerem Shalom.

The terrorists, who were taking advantage of the foggy weather condition, were first spotted by female IDF observation soldiers at about 4 a.m. They quickly dispatched soldiers to the area and shortly later, they encountered the terrorists only 400 meters from the Israeli border. The terrorists opened fire on the soldiers and a gun battle ensued which lasted for several long moments and led to the death of Mazarib.

Meanwhile, an IDF attack drone deployed to the area attacked the terrorists and killed two of them. Another terrorist was killed by tank fire shortly afterward.

The terrorists were armed with assault rifles and RPGs.

Reports said that the fourth terrorist managed to escape back to the Gaza Strip despite the drones and tanks deployed to the area. However, the IDF later said that it’s possible there were only three terrorists.

The IDF emphasized that the terrorist did not cross the security fence along the Gaza Strip and that the incident is under investigation.

Ynet reported that IDF forces have been seeing an increasing number of attempts by Gazan terrorists to infiltrate Israel, mainly from the Khan Younis area. The incident on Thursday morning was one of the most serious infiltration attempts since the first week of the war.

The IDF has emphasized that the threat of infiltration attempts by terror cells from Gaza will continue in the coming years.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)